Love and Reason
by Brass Mama
Summary: After the events concerning Michael Rivkin, Ziva vanishes. A take on that story arc from Helen Pattskyn's AU. More inside.
1. Where is Ziva David?

Disclaimers: I don't own TW or NCIS.  
Spoilers: Truth or Consequences  
Warnings: None for this chapter.  
Pairings: McAbby,

A/N: Hi! This is my second Torchwood Fict in Helen Pattskyn's AU'verse. This is my first NCIS fict (not counting me and Rayne Tam's Two Author's Crack!fic) Pretty much after seeing ToC, I wanted to explain how Gibbs teleported, and the story kind of took of from there. Now, I've got a pretty AU NCIS to go along with the AU Torchwood. I took some liberties and 'emptied the bins' of "didn't like" stuff from season six, so some characters are else where and there are some OCs and I sped up the time line a bit. If the changes are confusing AT ALL, please PM me so I can make it better. Any who, this is set well after Stars for HP's stories. Oh, and Ziva is obviously back at NCIS.

Yeah, so here it is.

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

"Reason and love keep little company together"

Bottom, the Weaver _A Midsummer Night's Dream_

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January 22, 2010

Tony leaned his head back against the cold concrete wall of the NCIS headquarters building. The last couple of weeks had left him in a state of perpetual numbness. His thoughts were at war inside his head. Half of him felt justified in killing Rivkin and that what followed was out of his hands. His other half screamed 'Idiot!' inside his head for letting Ziva go, for killing Rivkin, for everything. He didn't know yet how his team felt. Langer had just sauntered out of the bullpen after all was explained and Wyn had looked ready to scream and scratch his eyes out. Palmer was just silent, while Chris and Juliet asked endless questions about why Ziva hadn't returned with him from Tel Aviv. He'd said that he'd been given a choice, and he couldn't stand for either option.

It had all started with a murder, a marine strung up and electrocuted into suffocation. Tiny had sent Langer and Wyn over and their investigation turned up another Mossad officer working in the States. Ziva knew him. More than knew him, they might have loved each other.

Well, one thing led to another, and the situation came to point about a week ago. Tony wanted to know why a known terrorist's laptop had been connect to the internet at Ziva's; he got there to find none other than Michael Rivkin lounging, probably waiting for Ziva. They fought, Tony had somehow won. Rivkin

died and the director put himself, Tony, and Ziva on the next flight to Tel Aviv.

_What did they expect me to do? Let Ziva accuse me of murdering Rivkin out of spite? _

Tony shook his head. He needed to call Abby. What time was it in Wales right now? Would she be awake, anyway? Oh, well. _Abbs would kill me if I didn't call her. _He checked his watch, 11:32. With the time difference, it was about 4:30 in the morning.

Abby picked up on the third ring of his second call.

"Tony? What's wrong?" she was frantic; she knew something was wrong.

He decided to try being oblivious. "What do you mean, Abby? Can't I just call you?"

"Not when it's almost midnight over there." he could hear her scolding look though five time zones.

"Fine, busted." he dropped the innocent tone, "I thought you should know, Ziva stayed in Israel." Abby was as up-to-date as Tony could keep her, last calling her when they left for Tel Aviv.

"What? Is she visiting her dad? How long?"

"She chose to stay. She doesn't trust me, Abbs, probably won't for awhile. I don't know if she'll even come back. " His voiced cracked at the end; he hadn't cried through the whole thing. He hadn't cried since he got back.

"Tony, how could you live her there?!" _Great, _Tony thought, _I pissed off the person who can kill me and leave no trace. _"You," Abby continued, "Mr. Dinozzo better tell her to call me when she calls."

"Abby, I don't think she's going to call ME." He was trying to hold himself together until he finished with Abby.

"Sorry, tell Wyn she has to tell her to call me." If Ziva called anyone, she was going to call Wyndi Davis-Sosa, the McGeek's probie replacement. Tony smiled at a memory of Wyn and Ziva glaring each other down that first day. _McGee suggested her, yes? She seems cocky. _They ended up becoming really good friends and went to the range together, a lot.

Abby and Tony didn't converse much longer, she had to go to work and he needed to attempt to sleep. Maybe just feign sleep, cause he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he fell over from exhaustion.

He looked up at the stars, wondering what the sky looked like in Israel right now.

"Tony?" Jimmy Palmer startled him from his thoughts. **DR.** Jimmy Palmer. He'd never ever get used to that, not in a million years.

"Hi, Jimmy." Tony, as well as most everyone else, had stopped calling him Palmer when he became NCIS' medical examiner. Of course, McGee still called him Palmer.

"Uh, Director Vance was looking for you."

"You're the med examiner, why are you getting me?"

"Everyone else clocked out early."

Tony frowned. "Oh."

++--++--++--++

February 13, 2010

Tony's phone rang, waking him from his dreamless slumber. He was too exhausted to dream; Wyn, Langer, and himself had had to take down a meth user/dealer, hopped up on his own product. It had taken all three of them to take him down. He reached past his alarm clock, which read 4:33 AM, and answered his cell.

"Dinozzo?' he was too tired, not caring for early morning calls.

"Tony, it's McGee."

"McKill-Joy, do you realize what time it is over here? Actually, what time is it over there?" Tony sat up, bothered by how bothered McGeek sounded.

"Sorry about the time, Tony, but have you heard from Ziva?"

"You called me at four thirty in the morning to ask if I've heard from someone who thinks I killed her boyfriend out of jealousy? Are you on something McGee? Did you inhale this time?" Tony smiled to himself, remembering the creepy 'Good Wife' killer, and how McGee claimed not to like Mary Jane when he'd tried it.

"Tony, I'm serious. I… I mean, Abby and I think something's wrong. Not-" Abby stole the conversation.

"Not just the Ziva staying in Tel Aviv part. Me and Tim were trying to find out where she went after she left, so we hacked Mossad-"

It was Tony's turn to interrupt. "You can do that and not get killed?"

"Torchwood." Tim and Abby said in unison. She continued, "Anyways, Ziva was sent to track down a terrorist in Somalia, named Saleem Ulman. She boarded a cargo ship bound for the Horn of Africa and that's where we loose her."

"How can I help?" Tony asked, quite sure where they were going with this, but hoping he was wrong.

"We need you to get intel from NCIS agents in Somalia as well as help us find the Damocles, because after it leaves port, there is no trace of it." McGee said.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." They traded good byes and hung up.

"Ziva, where are you?" he asked the thin air.

Somalia, Horn of Africa

The room was bare, only a couple chairs and a dirt floor. The door look like it was made of a heavy wood. Sand soaked air floated around, the humidity at its lowest.

The door opened. A man, dark skinned as many middle eastern natives. He had a knife. He was after answers.

He grabbed her chin, turning Ziva David's face toward his. "Tell me everything you know about NCIS and Torchwood."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter coming soon, really excited about it. I deliberated with myself for half a day to end the first chapter by mirroring the Season 6 finale or not. I did.

Kudos if you caught the wink in the AN. Again, if you haven't read Helen's AU, at least skimming Now Comes the Night should explain most of what's going on, you're going to probably get really lost, really quick if you haven't already. For the record, cause at this point I don't know how well I get around to explaining the OCs in the fict, Chris and Juliet are the lab techs hired to replace the guy who replaced Abby after she left. The last guy got scared off when possible 'terrorists' kicked him out of his lab and later beat up some guards. Wyn, actually Wyndi, is a computer tech person but she isn't as geeky as McGee or her former, Keating. I realize that Helen has a character named Wendy, but I liked this spelling and wanted to use it, very Welsh looking. Anyways, if you didn't pick up on it, Langer does work for Tony, and didn't get killed off by Lee and Palmer is obviously the medical examiner now. Sorry for the long ANs, I just want to get this written and publish before I loose my muse. Maybe I'll go back later and explain some more about the characters. Bye. Please R&R.


	2. What's the Plan?

Disclaimers, Spoilers, Warnings: See previous chapter.

Pairings: McAbby, Janto (mostly in passing)

A/N: Okay, now we get to the actual cool stuff. More Torchwood in this chapter. Like I said in the last chapter, this is set in Helen's AU, originally to explain Gibbs' mysterious teleportation, now it's to write a fun fict.

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

Love is like heaven, but it can hurt like hell.

Unknown

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February 16, 2010

Tony found himself sitting, alone, in a bar. He needed to get drunk, to forget tonight, to forget the sound of Abby's voice when he told her what he'd found out about the Damocles. It had sunk en route to Somalia. All hands presumed dead. Including Ziva.

"_Tony, this can't be right. Ziva can't be dead." She was crying. He could hear McGee asking from the background, "Ziva's dead?"_

_Abby yelled at him that No, the former Mossad Liaison to NCIS wasn't dead. _

"_Abby! She's dead! There's nothing we can do."_

She'd hung up him then and there. Abby had never hung up on anyone, ever. At least, not that he knew of.

Tony signaled the bartender for another drink. His phone rang. It was McGee. _Terrific! Now probie wants to give me a hard time._ He answered.

"Dinozzo." He slurred a bit.

"Tony. I…" McGee paused, "Are you drunk?"

"Yes, Probie, I'm in a bar drinking. Was there something you wanted at…" He looked at his watch. "At one in the morning."

"Uh, Abby made me call." He heard 'Timmy!' in the back ground, "Ow!"

"Why did you call me, McGee?" Tony didn't have time, well actually he had the weekend, but he didn't want to deal with this, whatever THIS was, right now, if at all.

"Abby wanted me to tell you that she knows where the terrorist Ziva was chasing is. He has something to do with sinking the ship."

"How did you find this out so fast?"

"Torchwood, Tony. Torchwood."

"Why do you think he has something to do with the boat sinking?"

"He's been stealing some supplies and ordering others."

Tony scrunched up his eyebrows, getting up from the bar. He left his drink and thirty on the counter.

"Why sink a ship for that?"

"It had some pretty specific stuff on it. Guns, medical supplies, and a few creature comforts." Abby said from the background, sounding like he'd been put on speaker phone.

"Creature comforts, for terrorists? You sure?"

Tony was out on the street, walking toward his car. _Actually, that's probably a bad idea._

"Yes, Tony. Things like music, coffee, and believe it or not, CafPow." Abby sounded excited.

"Tony, you might want to get Gibbs in on this." McGee said seriously.

"Yeah, about that. I haven't told him that the Damocles sank."

"What?!" Abby snapped. "You haven't told Gibbs."

"Sorry, Abbs, I wasn't thinking. I'm in the neighborhood, so I'll go over there right now."

"You'd better. Ziva needs us."

"Bye, I'll call back soon."

Tony flipped his phone shut. Great, just what I need, Gibbs.

About fifteen minutes later, he found himself outside his former Boss' home. He knocked, no answer, so he just went through the unlocked door. He could hear the television running down stairs, Gibbs was still awake. As he rounded the doorframe at the top of the stairs, he saw his boss methodically sanding the ribs of what had to be his fifth, maybe even his sixth, boat.

"Hey, uh, Gibbs." Tony said, walking down to his boss.

"Tony, what ya doin' here?" Gibbs didn't look up, instead blowing wood dust off the wood he'd just finished.

"I've got news, about Ziva." Tony was dead serious.

Gibbs looked up at Tony, his face very grim. "What is it?"

"The ship Ziva was on, the Damocles, it sank off the coast of Somalia."

"Ziva?" the former marine asked.

"Nothing concrete. All hands are presumed dead, but Abby keeps insisting otherwise. She and McGee already found the terrorist suspected to be responsible for the ship sinking."

"Then why are we still here?" Gibbs put his hand tools on the work top and headed up to the main story of his home.

Tony followed with his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Gibbs turned and looked at him. "Don't you want to get the bastard that's responsible for killing your team member, or are you going to sit on your ass and drink yourself to oblivion?"

He didn't wait for an answer and left Tony standing, feeling sudden clarity. After a moment, Tony hurried up the stairs. He had to call Wyn and Langer.

++--++--++--++

Gibbs sat on the corner of what used to be Ziva's desk. He and Tony had rushed over to NCIS headquarters to make arrangements to go to Somalia. Langer and the computer person, Wyn, had arrived shortly after Tony had headed upstairs to talk to NCIS in Somalia.

"Gibbs. How are you?" Langer asked after he'd stowed his stuff. He'd brought coffee, for himself and Gibbs.

"Working on another boat. You?"

"Still a bit… I guess disheveled by this whole Ziva thing."

"You're not the only one." Gibbs said, almost as an after thought. He was looking at Wyn, the woman, barely more than a girl, who had replaced McGee. She looked like she'd had better days. Her umber hair was done up in a messy ponytail, and she had tell-tale puffiness around her eyes; she'd been crying. "Tell me about her." Gibbs said quietly to Langer.

"Wyn?"

Gibbs nodded.

"She's from Washington. State. Has a bachelors in computer engineering and computer forensics. Turned down the FBI to work for NCIS' cyber-crime unit."

Gibbs continued to watch her do something on her computer, not that he would know what, even if he saw her screen.

"I meant tell me about her, Langer, not her resume."

Langer shrugged. "She hasn't been here more than a couple of months, I haven't really gotten to know her that well. She spent a lot of time down at the range with Ziva. I know she hung out with Chris and Juliet after work sometimes, but I haven't really spent much time with her outside of work."

Gibbs nodded. "She looks young? How old?'

"Twenty-four as of November. She got transferred in after Tony sent the last guy back. Apparently, McGee suggested her."

Gibbs took the first sip of the coffee Langer had brought him and grimaced. "She a good agent?"

"Yeah, her computer skills rival McGee's. Though she's a more than decent shot, surprising since she's… a geek."

The bell on the elevator chimed, the director of NCIS getting off. Leon Vance looked mildly surprised to see Jethro Gibbs sharing coffee with one of his agents. "Well, Mr. Gibbs. How are you?" What the hell are doing here?

"Been better. Been worse." Gibbs as succinct as ever. They hadn't seen each other since the 456 incident when Leon had let goons from the UK try and arrest McGee and Abby.

"Might I ask what you're doing here at this hour?"

"Well, yeah, Leon, and I could ask you the same question."

"Agent Dinozzo is causing a bit of a stir, as is Torchwood." He said the last word as if it were a terror cell, and for all he cared, that's what it was. They'd caused a lot of hysteria, after the 456 left, when footage they'd taken was released and the government in the UK had been rearrange so much he still wasn't one-hundred percent sure who was in charge.

"Really? That doesn't sound like Dinozzo." Gibbs smiled at Langer, one of those smiles that he got when he was winning. Tony chose this moment to make himself obvious by saying that Abby wanted to talk to him, Wyn, Langer, and Gibbs down in the lab.

As the four boarded the elevator, Leon glared, hoping that he didn't end up with another international incident on his hands.

++--++--++--++

Gibbs, Tony, Langer, and Wyn arrived in the lab in the middle of Abby swapping boot brands with Juliet Hayes, a bit of dark angel herself, other than the shiny shirts she tended to wear. Her brother, Chris was much plainer than his twin sister, sticking to mostly neutral colors for his laid back wardrobe.

Tony had once caught Langer saying that the twins were 'the new shiny toys at NCIS.' He gotten a head slap for his cleverness.

"Gibbs!" Abby shouted from the computer screen.

"Hey, Abbs. What've you got?" Gibbs said, falling easily back in his role as an agent, even though technically he wasn't in charge.

"The terrorist, he's in Somalia." Abby said, "Tony, what did you find out from Chad?" Chad was the NCIS agent in charge in Somalia.

"He said that the terrorists they've been tracking are rumored to have a woman captive, but they don't know much more about them. They've tightened their ranks since their cell was wiped out in LA by OSP." Tony explained, holding a cup of coffee in his hands, still shaking off his three shots of vodka from earlier.

"So, Ziva could still be alive? I knew it!" Abby spun around in her chair. Tony, as well as everyone else, could see that she was in a lab. Gibbs knew it was the Hub. The rest assumed it was just a plain old lab.

"Either way," Gibbs said, "we're gonna get that bastard."

The next half hour was spent figuring out how to get Tony and Gibbs over to Cardiff, then Somalia, and not get Tony fired by Vance.

++--++--++--++

February 17, 2010

Cardiff, Wales

As Tony and Gibbs got off the plane, there were greeted by Abby, McGee, and Jack.

"Hello, Harkness." Gibbs extended his hand. Jack took it.

"Good to see you again, Gibbs. Wish it were under better circumstances." He turned to Tony, "Hello, gorgeous."

Tony shifted uncomfortably, squirming a bit under Jack's gaze.

"Hey!" Gibbs snapped, "I thought you were married." Gibbs seemed to find the situation more amusing than he wanted to let on.

"Married, not blind." Jack turned and walked back toward he and Ianto 's red SUV. Bobby, Ianto and Wendy had gone out on a Weevil Retrieval shortly before Jack was supposed to pick up Tony and Gibbs, so he'd had to drive their other car.

Abby ran up and hugged Gibbs, then Tony. "So, glad you could come out here."

The excuse for them being in Cardiff was a layover for their flight to Somalia, giving them enough time to figure out an attack strategy before "surveying" the area the terrorist was based.

Within minutes, they arrived at Abby's flat. She'd set up her computer and webcam so they could use satellite imagery that the Twins sent them from D.C. to plan how best to infiltrate a terrorist hide out and kill the boss. Abby quickly set up the connection and the bronze haired twins appeared on her large screen, Wyn sitting on the table behind them with Langer.

"Hey, Abby." Juliet said, waving. "Hi, Tony."

"Hi, Guys." Abby turned on another screen, so she could work with the satellite images and not cover the video screen.

"We just sent you the latest images from several CIA satellites." Chris said, focused on his computer rather than the camera. "Should be there momentarily, ma'am."

"Chris, mala speka Abby ma'am, dilwelv." Juliet hit her brother's arm.

"Eya oo lanka, Juliet-sho" Chris held up his hands in surrender.

The two bantered back in for in broken English mixed with their own made up words.

Abby, McGee, and Gibbs looked at Tony.

"What the hell are they saying, Dinozzo?" Gibbs didn't look too happy.

"Well, Gibbs, I don't know exactly. Chris and Juliet tend to speak like that most of the time, apparently when they were in high school they made up their own language to talk without being understood, or something like that. Essentially, she's telling him not to call Abby ma'am and that as much as I get." Dinozzo shrugged as Wyn told the twins to get back to the task at hand.

"Sorry," Juliet said, punching her brother one last time in the arm.

"Anyway," Chris continued, rubbing his now sore arm, "I over-laid the picture on a three dimensional model of the area and it's on it's way to you… now."

"Thanks, Chris. You're always so sweet. Tell you what, next time I'm in D.C., CafPow for both of you, on me. Talk to you two later." Abby waved bye before closing the window and moving the satellite picture back over to her main screen.

Jack learned in, over Abby's shoulder. "Okay, so how are we going to pull this off?"

* * *

AN: The language that Juliet and Chris use is actually based on me my twin's own language we share with our close friends.

We call it Floovian, due to a VERY long story.


	3. Are we there, yet?

Disclaimers, Spoilers, Warnings: See previous chapter.

Pairings: McAbby, Janto (mostly in passing)

A/N: I'm so glad that so many people like this enough to subscribe to it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and subscribed. Shout out to CelticHeiressFiona for her review that made me laugh, although Gibbs isn't magical. At least, I hope not… *looks over shoulder* Sorry, Boss! *slapped in back of head* Ow!

Oh, btw, February 22 is my birthday, so in an odd way, happy b-day to Rayne Tam and me.

Enjoy :-P

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

I get by with a little help from my friends.

_- John Lennon_

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February 22, 2010

Somalia, Horn of Africa.

"_Be careful, Cariad." Ianto had said. _

"_I always am." Jack smiled, kissing his husband's forehead._

Jack smiled. He was tired, and so far, their efforts weren't producing much more than quiet chatter in the area. The memory of his husband lifted his spirit a bit. That had been almost a week ago, before Jack had left Cardiff with Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and, much to Gibbs and Jack's chagrin, Abby.

"_No, you can't leave me here!" Abby yelled at Jack, about half way through the discussion of what they needed to bring._

"_Yes, I can and you will stay here." Jack used his tone that, usually, brooked no room to argue. Abby wasn't backing down._

"_Jack Harkness, you are so sexists!" _

"_Am not!" He said back. "I have no prejudice toward __**any**__ of the Sexes."_

_Abby stood up, walking up to the Captain. "You are telling me __**-someone who can kill you and leave NO evidence- **__to stay here sit on my hands while you, my husband, my friend, and my former Boss, all of which are __**men**__, go off to play knight-in-shining-armor and rescue __**my**__ maid of honor. If you think I'm going to stand by, and let you be sexist, you've got another thing coming, Mister."_

"_You know, I can't die, Abby." Jack said. Tony seemed to find this intriguing and tried to ask, but Abby had a comeback before he could finish his question._

"_No, you just can't stay dead! I can still kill you and __**YOU**__ wouldn't even think it was me."_

After about an hour more of this, Jack and Gibbs had relented. So, now they were in Somalia to find Ziva. Tony and McGee had gone out to 'survey' the area. The plan would hopefully be put in motion, soon. For Ziva's sake.

Abby sat nervously in their mini-command-centre. She looked over to where Jack and Gibbs sat in silence.

Gibbs was wearing desert camouflage and Jack was wearing similar.

"What do think is taking so long?" she asked, not to anyone in particular.

Neither Gibbs nor Jack had an answer for her. All they could do was sit. Sit and wait. Sit and hope that terrorists were as cautious about people snooping around as everyone said.

That's when Abby's laptop started beeping.

"It worked. They did it!" Abby looked at her screen, showing a red, blinking dot overlaid on a satellite map of the area. They were slowly moving north.

Gibbs and Jack were up and looking at the screen. "Guess we should get comfortable. They probably won't be there for awhile." Jack headed back to his chair.

"Think again, Harkness." Gibbs waved him back over to the laptop. The dot had stopped moving. "They must've gotten really close."

"So, now we…" Abby started, standing up from the uncomfortable desk she'd been sitting at on and off for five and a half days.

"Now, me and Gibbs go find this guy's hideout and you stay here." Jack WAS going to win this time.

"You're so sexist, Jack!" Abby wined.

"Am Not!!" He retorted, earning himself a glare. "Abby, I think you'll agree that Tim would kill me, thrice, if anything were to happen to you. 'Sides, you told him you'd stay here."

"But, Jack…"

"Abbs, stay here." Gibbs said, slinging his sniper rifle over his shoulder. "And call Cardiff to fill them in."

They'd been keeping phone silence to prevent anyone from knowing where the were based, at this point that wouldn't matter.

"Okay, but you better bring Tim back safe and sound!"

"I promise Abbs, I will."

He and Jack said bye, and left for the hideout. Abby sat for a moment, then called Ianto to update him.

* * *

Things didn't look good. Truth serum equaled bad. Terrorist asking him about NCIS and Torchwood equaled ugly.

_Hmm.. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Great film._

Saleem Ulman was pretty interest in who made up NCIS, for starters. He'd explained Vance, Langer, Wyn, and Jimmy. Best guess why, the truth serum made him chattier than usual.

"Is there anyone else that you work with on a regular basis?" Saleem asked, sipping some of his 'caffeinated drink', which Tony guessed was CafPow, based off Abby's findings.

"Only our lab geeks, Chris and Juliet Hayes."

"Your lab techs are a couple?"

Tony smile. "No, they're twins. Though if you ask them, Chris will point out that he was born five minutes before Juliet. They make a good team. Juliet is very flamboyant in everything. She once wore stilts for a whole day just 'cause Langer called her short. That is, until Chris convinced her that she was better off short." Tony sighed. "What would we do with our Wonder Twins? That was such a fun cartoon, you probably never watched it."

"I thought Abby Scuito was the lab tech for NCIS in Washington."

"Nope, after our old boss retired, she got a job in the UK. Very secretive bunch. Torchwood."

The word struck a cord. "Who else do you know from Torchwood?"

"I met them all at McGee and Abby's wedding."

_Wow, I've got really loose lips. _

"Who?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"Who?" Saleem's anger rose, causing veins in his neck to strain.

"You know, this reminds me of a movie, just not sure which one…"

Saleem slammed his hands against the wall and left, kicking McGee. The well trained eye would have seen a slight wince. The door slammed.

"You okay, McGoo?" Tony asked.

McGee laid still and answer with a nod. "Just really, really sore. You?"

"Truth serum. Don't ask anything I don't want you to know! I will answer, then I will hurt you."

"Why did you come? Jack and I could have handled it without you." McGee asked.

"Because…" Tony bit his lip, he was getting tired of just blurting out answers, but him being tired was why he answered anyway. "Because I love Ziva."

"Really?" McGee wished her were more surprised. The way Tony and Ziva had always bantered while he'd been there had always made him think of some married couple. Plus, they'd danced together at he and Abby's wedding. He smiled to himself. At the wedding, Ziva and Ianto had danced with each other while Jack had danced with Ducky. After Tony had gotten over the latter pairing, he'd gotten this look on his face, jealousy maybe, then asked McGee why a married gay guy would dance with Ziva, quietly of course.

"_Tony, Ianto's not gay. And sides, he's best man and Ziva's maid of honor. Why? You jealous?"_

"_Of course not, McDictionary."_

The topic never resurfaced.

* * *

Jack and Gibbs were hunkered down on a hill top near the hideout where Tony and McGee were. Both were mostly still, which left lots of time for silence.

"What do you see?" Jack asked for the third time since they'd got there, about as many hours ago.

"Just Tony's back. Can't see anything else." It was then that Tony seemed to look up at something.

"I think someone just came in."

Jack wished he could see what was going on. They'd made their promises to Abby, but so far, Gibbs hadn't had a visual on Tim. That worried Jack. He'd volunteered to help with this rescue/vendetta mission primarily to make sure nothing happened to newly weds. He just hoped nothing had happened.

Gibbs could see that someone had just been sat down in front of Tony, but they had a bag over their head. Saleem was walking around Tony and the other person's seats, angry. They hadn't been giving him something he wanted. He walked behind the other chair and pulled the bag of the new parties head.

It was Ziva.

Gibbs' heart skipped a beat. She was in bad shape, judging by what he could see. Jack must've notice him tense up a bit, because a moment later he asked, "What is it?"

"Ziva. She's alive."

"Well, take the shot so we can get them out of there."

"Saleem's gone. He must've left."

Ziva and Tony were talking. He could guess what they were saying. Ziva would wonder why they were in Somalia, tell them that they shouldn't have come, ask how they'd found her. Then, Tony would tell her that they weren't here by accident, explain their plan to captured in order to find her.

Saleem was back and he wanted answers, Now. Tony was talking to him, probably making the movie reference he'd kept making the entire way to Somalia.

"_You know, this plan makes me think of that scene from True Lies, when Arnold is handcuffed to the chair and he gets free and kills everyone."_

Just after that, Gibbs got his signal. Tony finally looked the guy in the face. Whatever Tony had decided to say, made his eyes get wide. And Gibbs took the shot. Saleem was dead.

Jack and Gibbs were up and ready to go.

Gibbs looked at Jack, "We've got to get down there, fast. You said you had a plan what is it?"

Jack smiled. He pointed at the big bulky wrist strap he wore. "Teleport. Hold on for a sec."

Jack hit a couple buttons and turned a tiny knob a little. "Okay, here goes nothing."

He grabbed Gibbs' hand and put it on top of his wrist. "What the hell are you.."

And suddenly they were on the edge of the huddle of buildings they'd just been watching.

"…doing?" Gibbs glanced around quickly. "You'd better explain what just happened, when this is over."

"Of course, let's go."

The camp was in chaos. People had started shooting at shadows, trying to figure out how someone could pull off killing their leader and them not know who. Gibbs and Jack shot a good dozen men on their way to the building Tony had been in.

They found Tony, Tim, and Ziva about to be shot by one of the guards. Jack shot him first.

The guard went down, but not before getting a shot off of his own, hitting Jack in the chest. He went down fast, hitting the ground hard. Ziva and Tony froze.

Gibbs remembered when he'd met Jack for the first time, when he'd seen him take a bullet and stand back up not a minute later. McGee rushed forward, checking's Jack's eyes to see if which side he was on, life or death.

Jack wasn't dead, yet. The shot would kill him, but had been too far off to make it instant, just quick. He glanced around trying to focus, knowing, soon, he'd die and, soon after that, he'd come back. He wished Ianto were here with him, remembering the promise his husband had made. To always be there when he came back. He thought of Jason and Seren, knowing he'd be there for them, no matter what. He smiled. Then, all was black.

Ziva and Tony stared in shock at McGee, who was putting a rolled up jacket under a dead man's head, his knees getting blood on them from the growing pool.

"McGee, what are you doing, he's dead?" Tony asked, easing Ziva against a wall so he could help Gibbs keep an eye out for more guards.

"Not for long." McGee said, not bothering to look at Tony, not wanting his boss to have to wake up alone.

Tony looked at Gibbs in confusion. Gibbs, he knew from Abby's wedding, had met Jack before. "What's he talking about?"

"He can't die." Gibbs said, using the same words that McGee had used to explain it to him.

"What…" Tony's question was interrupted by a sudden gasp. His head snapped to where Jack Harkness was alive.

Jack's looked around quickly, looking slightly panicked until he saw McGee.

"Ianto's going to kill you, Boss." McGee grinned. "Didn't he say something along the lines of be careful?"

Jack looked at him indignantly, "I was being careful. That guy shouldn't have been able to shoot me."

"How'd you guy get here so quick?" McGee asked, helping Jack to his feet.

Tony interrupted. "Hey! I thought you guys were just joking around. What are you? Wolverine or something?"

Jack and McGee looked at each other. "I've never thought of myself as the angry-Canadian type before. What do you think Tim? Grr. Think Ianto will like it."

Tim rolled his eyes. Jack was incorrigible, but it was best to ignore him and move on. "Can we just focus on getting out of here, then deal with all this?"

Gibbs nodded, and then went back to keeping an eye out for more men trying to kill them. Tony helped Ziva back up.

"Hello, Gibbs." She said in an uncharacteristically weak voice. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

"Good to see you, Ziva." Gibbs gave Ziva a rare smile. "Now, let's get the hell out of here."

__++__==__++__

AN: Sorry, for the wait, but we have an essay draft due on Monday and I need to finish typing it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. There's still one, maybe two, more chapters in this story. Please R&R bye!


	4. Where do we go from here?

Disclaimers, Spoilers, Warnings: See previous chapter.

Pairings: McAbby, Tiva, Janto

Warnings: Unlike my other chapters, this one does have swearing, including the F bomb. You've been told.

A/N: Okay, so this is the last chapter. Thanks to Helen for letting me play with a couple of her toys for this story. Anyways, straight to the fict. Enjoy the chapter.

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

Rule 11 supersedes Rule 12

And No Koalas on Submarines.

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to

cross and which to burn.

~David Russell

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Just because I'm losing,

doesn't mean I've lost,

doesn't mean I'll stop.

~Cold play, _Lost_

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February 22, 2010

Horn of Africa

After getting back to the mini-command-centre, everyone hurriedly packed their things, ready to get out of Somalia before the hammer came down. With a major terrorist dead, the area would soon be in a state of disorder, not quite chaos, but bad enough to make them vulnerable to attack.

Tony still wanted someone to explain how Jack had taken a bullet to the chest and gotten up out of his own blood pool to tell the tale. Abby and McGee couldn't help but remember the Christmas when Tony and Jack had met, and how he only remember part of the encounter.

"Seriously, he's like a freaking Jack in a box." Tony was trying to rationalize something he couldn't explain.

"HE is standing right here." Jack was extremely unhappy about getting shot, and it was worse when he had the NCIS agent wanting to know how he was still standing. Though, the Jack in a box comment was clever.

"What are you? Superman?" Tony looked the captain in the eye.

"Tony!" Ziva's first words since they'd made it back to the hovel they had based themselves in.

Tony's head whipped around. Ziva's voice had been small, but her tone had caught his attention.

"Get yourself together. We need to get out of here, yes. I wish to know as well, but I can wait, so should you."

"Fine, but someone better explain this as soon as we're free and clear." Tony stomped off to finish putting away what he had with him.

February 23, 2010

Cardiff, Wales

Upon arriving in Cardiff, they met Bobby and Ianto at the airport. Bobby gave Ziva a precursory exam at the airport and opted to go back to the Hub to finish. Despite not wanting to reveal any more of Torchwood to Tony, Jack figured at this point if Tony had seen so much already that it really didn't matter. B**es**ides, if he even thought about retconning Tony AGAIN, Abby would probably kill him. Twice.

At the hub, Tim and Bobby helped Ziva into the exam room, Ianto dragged his husband off for less than obscure reasons, and left Abby, Gibbs and Tony alone.

"You gonna explain this to me now?" Tony asked. Abby, Jack, and Tim had been dodging the question all the way home.

"You want me to explain how Jack can take a bullet and still be off…" Abby waved around vaguely, "where ever with Ianto right now."

Tony nodded.

"Uh… How do I explain this? Oh, did you watch much of Wormhole X-treme?" Abby spun on her heels, trying to lose the nervous energy se was full of.

"Heck yeah! I love that show. But what's your point?"

"You know how the one archaeologist dude, I don't remember his name, you know how he got killed in season 6 or something and then came back. It's like that, only faster.""I think that makes sense. But, how? Why can't he die?"

Abby took a deep breath, "Maybe someday you'll find out, but that's not my story to tell." She looked off in the direction Jack and Ianto had left.

* * *

In the infirmary/exam room, Bobby was looking over Ziva, drawing blood, and giving her meds he suspected she might need.

"Do you remember when your last tetanus shot was, Ms. David?" Bobby asked, labeling another vial and setting it aside to run a basic work up on.

"Uh, no. Maybe, three, four years ago?"

"Okay, I'm going to give you some antibiotics for your infection, and as long as nothing shows up in you blood work, you should be physically fine."

"Thank you, Dr. Chase." Ziva nodded, looking down. That one word wasn't lost on her, or Tim for that matter. Physically, she would be fine, but that left her mental state in question.

Bobby grabbed the vials of blood and headed for Abby's lab, leaving Tim to walk Ziva back into the main part of the Hub.

"Can you walk on your own?" Tim asked, worried by how pale Ziva looked.

"I will be fine, McGee. Thank you." Ziva pushed herself off they table, finding her feet less stable than she'd hoped and falling against her former coworker.

"I've got you." Tim set her straight-ish. "Maybe you should sit back down."

"No, I do not want to stay in here." Ziva sounded slightly defiant, and then in a quiet voice told McGee, "The room is too small."

"Okay." Tim nodded and walked her into the main area of the Hub. At that moment, Myfanwy swooped over head and shrieked, probably just getting back from her evening flight, wondering who the strangers are. Tony, Ziva, and Gibbs' heads shot upward.

"What the hell was that?" Tony asked.

"A Pteredon."

"No shit, McSherlock. I mean how'd it get here, now?" Tony glared at McGee. He now understood why the probie had high security clearance them him.

Abby sighed, more to explain. Jack had better not retcon any of them, or she'd have his head on a silver platter.

"There's this rift in space and time that runs through Cardiff. All the time, things from other times and other worlds, even other times and worlds, fall through the rift. Sometime its nothing more dangerous than some piece of metal, sometimes its an alien or something alien that's dangerous."

"So, a Pterodactyl fell through this rift, into your guy's base?" Tony rubbed his scalp.

"No, she fell through the rift some where else and Ianto lured her into a warehouse, It's how he got a job here. He got Jack to help him bring her in." About halfway through her sentence Tony said 'her?' but didn't stop Abby mid sentence, he knew better. "She love dark chocolate."

Ziva and Tony shared a look. This was strange, even for Abby.

"But, anyways, I'm sure none of us want to spend all night here. There's a great pizza place that delivers to me and Tim's flat. Any takers?" Abby looked around.

"That sounds nice Abby." Ziva said.

"Okay, just a sec, I have to let Jack know…" she paused, "On second thought, I'll tell Bobby and Wendy." She ran and vanished inside the hub. About couple minutes later, Abby came back, wearing a black jacket and holding her purse.

"I'm buying."

A couple hours later, the day finally ended with Abby, Tim, and their house guests, crashed on couch and chair of their flat.

* * *

NCIS Headquarters

March 9, 2010

Ziva sat outside headquarters, waiting for Tony. She'd been back stateside for about two weeks and had a meeting today with Director Vance, with Tony, concerning her status as liaison, a position she no longer wanted. She wanted to be an agent. Why should she be liaison for Mossad when her father made no move to help her?

Ziva sighed. She felt exhausted. Between not sleeping much and working out for hours, she barely got through the day on her feet. Gibbs, whose guest room she'd been staying in, had been trying to get her to sleep more. A couple nights ago, they sat in his basement and just talked. He told her a little bit about Shannon and Kelly; and in turn, Ziva had told him about what had happened before she left and how she'd lost faith in Tony. He'd just listened to her, made no comments. Just sat and listened.

Now, she was sitting, watching as her Italian friend strode across the courtyard.

"Hey, Ziva! How you doing?" Tony gave her one of those 100 watt smiles.

"I am… good. Gibbs' guest room is not the worst place I've stayed." Ziva stood from the bench, rubbing her palms against her slacks.

"There's a reason I don't stay over." Tony laughed.

"I thought that he would not let you stay over because…"

"Never mind, let's not keep Vance waiting."

Ziva smiled at her victory. Small, but still a win. She and Tony made their way to the director's offices in an almost comfortable silence. His secretary, Velma… Veronica… Violet… whatever… asked them to wait while Vance finished his meeting with the Secretary of the Navy.

"You do not cram in, any more?" Ziva asked.

"It's charge in, and no, not any more, last time I did that we got stuck doing security for a charity event full of admirals' wives. It was like a bunch of hens." Tony shuddered. "Some of them were my grandmother's age."

"Hens? How are they like hens?" Ziva gave her former partner a confused look. Tony opened his mouth to explain, when the door to Vance's office opened. Out walked Sec Nav followed by the director of NCIS.

"Hello, Agent Dinozzo. Officer David." Sec Nav nodded at each of them. "See you later, Leon."

"Yes, soon." Vance patted his friend on the shoulder then turned to usher Tony and Ziva into his office.

Once they were seated at the conference table, Vance looked seriously at both of them. "So, Agent Dinozzo, you say you want Ziva back on your team."

Tony nodded, despite it not being a question.

"And you, Ziva, you still want to be Mossad liaison? You do realize that requires a relationship with Mossad and as far as I've heard from Eli, he hasn't heard from you at all since you came stateside." Vance gave her a pointed look.

Ziva sat up straighter. "I wish to be an agent, Director Vance."

"But, that would require you to quit.."

"I already have, this morning I resigned. Working at NCIS with Tony's team," She just barely paused between Tony's name and the possessive, small enough to be mistaken as a blunder, big enough to be seen as a side step. "It's what I wish to do, and it means I have to resign Mossad to do so."

Tony hadn't heard any of this before now. He'd thought that Ziva was trying to get her liaison position back, but that pause. He'd heard for what it was. _Working with Tony…_ Did she mean it? If so, how far did she mean it?

Vance looked between the two of them, sensing their anticipation of his answer.

"Miss David, do you know why Sec Nav was here?" Vance learned forward, looking Ziva in the eye.

"I presume that you were discussing tactics." Ziva didn't understand where he was going with this.

"Yes and No. We were discussing the economy and where to make cuts, and I'm afraid that we can't afford to hire you as an agent. Liaison, maybe, since Mossad pays part of your wages, but I'm afraid our budget won't allow us to hire you as a full time agent." His voice implied more than what he was saying.

Sure the budget was tight, but he didn't want her back. He saw the early signs of PTSD and he didn't need a possible loose cannon working at NCIS. He knew how captivity could change people, make them jumpy, even paranoid. Soldiers who go in with cool, calm exteriors come out with fuses shorter than a firecracker with a bigger bang. What if she over reacted and shot someone, or lost it on a suspect? Did they need that possible side effect of having her here? The simple answer, the only answer, was No.

Ziva's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't believe this, Vance was leaving her out in the cold. She looked at the floor. "I understand." It was over.

"Well, I don't!" Tony stood so fast his chair fell over. "Ziva David is one of the best investigators I know. Considering she started this job with zero training, that's more than impressive. There is no reason that the fucking accountants can't find enough money to hire her. Sure, the budget is tight, but it ain't that goddamn tight. What's tight, in my not so humble opinion, is your ass!"

Ziva and Vance stared at Tony in shock. "Agent Dinozzo! You are WAY out of line!"

"No, your out of line! Director Vance," Tony inhaled and continued in his most mocking respectful tone, "I you will have my letter of resignation to you by end of office hours today. I am sick of you screwing us over with fucking politics and assumptions!"

"Soon to be former Agent Dinozzo, you need to leave my office. NOW! I expect your desk to be empty by the time I finish reading your letter of resignation. Ziva you're dismissed." The veins in Vance's neck were the bulging like they would explode in a bloody mess at any moment.

Outside, Ziva grabbed Tony's arm. His face was tinted red with anger.

"Tony! Why did you do that?" she spun him around and looked him the eye.

"Because you deserved the job. Because Vance is a piece of shit. Because I'm sick of this job." His voiced cracked, causing him to pause, taking a few deep breaths, calming himself. When he could control his voice again, he continued. "Because, while I was trying to work and live without you by my side, while I was tied to that chair, speaking the truth for those hours, I realized something. I love you, Ziva David."

Everything froze. Ziva felt like a whisper could make her collapse. She almost thought this was one of Tony's jokes to brighten the mood, but his tone… _He loves me? After all that happened, he loves… me?_

"Tony… I…" she couldn't speak. Her heart was on her sleeve. This man, this wonderfully annoying man, that had given her hell, had pulled pranks on her, that had been tortured for her… She felt like she couldn't breath all over again.

Ziva reached out and found the railing that over-looked the bullpen and clung to it, keeping her self from falling. She looked up at Tony. His eyes showed his uncertainty, his doubt in himself. She felt the same doubt. Before she could lose her nerve completely, she made her move.

Their lips met in a kiss that rivaled the movie ones that Tony thought were well done. Her passion mixed with his and the world melted away. They forgot where they were. They drew each other in, becoming more confident with what they were doing and losing their doubts to the wind.

Down below, Wyn elbowed Langer and pointed up at the new found lovers. He looked up and shook his head.

"It had to happen sooner or later." Langer laughed. He knew from how Tony had always acted around Ziva, that they were more of the married couple type than the quarreling siblings Langer was with Wyn.

"So, what do you think happened?' Wyn leaned in, whispering to her partner.

"I think we're about to find out" he snipped, spinning his chair around. Ziva and Tony had hesitantly parted, realizing they were becoming a spectacle in the open office. The pair made their way down the stairs, talking quietly, sharing whispers.

"Congrats, Langer. You just got promoted to head of major case." Tony was beaming.

Langer's head snapped up. Wyn thought for half a moment that her boss had gone mad. "What?!" They said in near unison.

"I quit. Vance-a-lot up there won't give Ziva a job, so I'm outta here." He did a little thumbs over the shoulder thing, pointing toward the elevator.

"But, you love this job." Wyn wasn't exactly looking forward to her partner being her boss.

"Not with **him** as my boss. Besides, I love Ziva more than I'll ever love this job. Also, now we don't have to deal with Rule number 12."

Wyn looked at Langer, she hadn't learned all the infamous rules yet. "Rule number 12?"

"Never date a coworker." Langer looked back at his former boss. "Need a hand moving out, Tony?"

"Thanks, but Ziva's going to help me. Plus, I've got to email Probie, and Abby and," he cringed, "I've gotta tell Gibbs."

Ziva smiled at him. "You will be fine, Tony. Gibbs will not kill you through the phone."

"You sure?" he smiled, still uncertain about his former boss' abilities.

Ziva thought a moment. "Honestly? No, I don't doubt Gibbs could kill you through the phone, but I think he prefers to do it in person." She laughed as Tony cringed away from his phone.

"It can wait." Tony sighed, starting to pull his few personal items out of the desk.

"So, Tony, Ziva, what now? You're unemployed." Langer asked from his desk, opposite of Ziva's old one.

"I don't know, I'm sure we can find something." Tony shrugged.

"When the job's done, just walk away." Ziva said mostly to herself.

FIN

AN: Thanks for reading. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, subscribed, and/or favorited this. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to have finished a multi-chap fict and even more so that people like it. I hope you like the ending.

It just felt right to have Vance be an ass and for Tony to quit. Truthfully, I don't know yet where they go from here, but there is a story in there about Langer and Wyn that maybe worth writing.

I'm almost done with another Torchwood One fict, so look for that coming to a website near you and you probably caught me seeding in another TV 'verse into the AU. Daniel, oh Daniel Jackson, you are awesome.

EDIT: If you haven't seen it on Helen's Profile yet. She has already started a sequel to this one that picks up the next day. It's really good.

Hope to be out with more soon, bye.

XERO SHANE


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